DCCC supports preparation of national evaluation of meeting places for young people with cancer and dissemination of knowledge on obesity and cancer

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In the third application round of the year for DCCC’s regular funding pool, two initiatives receive a total of almost DKK 400,000 in funding.

DCCC’s regular funding pool is supporting the preparation of a national evaluation of meeting places for young people and young adults with cancer, as well as an initiative to increase awareness and use of existing knowledge about obesity, metabolic disease and cancer across Denmark.

DCCC funding is provided as start-up funding for initiatives that can contribute to developing new research projects, strengthening national collaborations and creating a stronger foundation for future research and development in cancer.

One initiative will establish the national collaboration and methodological foundation for the first national evaluation of meeting places for young people and young adults with cancer. The other will bring existing research knowledge about obesity, metabolic disease and cancer closer to clinical cancer environments through six regional visits.

Below, you can read more about the two initiatives that received funding in the latest application round of DCCC’s regular funding pool.

DCCC has funded the preparation of a national evaluation of meeting places for young people and young adults with cancer. The meeting places were established as part of the ‘Kræftplan IV’, which allocated DKK 25 million to initiatives for young people and young adults with cancer aged 15–39. This group has specific needs during and after a cancer journey.

The meeting places are a complex supportive intervention integrated into the cancer care pathway, but there is currently limited knowledge about their reach and how they are organised and implemented. The existing meeting places at Rigshospitalet, Aarhus University Hospital, Zealand University Hospital and Odense University Hospital will therefore now be systematically evaluated.

DCCC funding will, among other things, be used to establish the national collaboration and develop a joint study protocol, harmonise data sources and registration practices, and prepare an analysis plan and study design. In this way, the preparation phase will establish the methodological, organisational and collaborative foundations for a high-quality national multicentre study.

The funding will therefore help ensure that the national investment made as part of ‘Kræftplan V ‘is followed up by a research-based evaluation that can document experiences and generate new knowledge about how the meeting places can best be organised, implemented and further developed as a supportive intervention for young people and young adults with cancer.

The expectation is that the study will provide an evidence-based foundation for clinicians, hospital management and decision-makers seeking to develop, implement or continue age-specific services for young people and young adults with cancer.

DCCC has funded the preparation of the study with DKK 199,122.

Read more about the initiative and participating partners: National evaluation of meeting places for young people and young adults with cancer – organisation, implementation and reach.

DCCC has funded the dissemination of existing knowledge about obesity, metabolic disease and cancer.

Obesity and metabolic disease have implications throughout the cancer care pathway – from risk and early diagnosis to treatment choices, toxicity, rehabilitation, late effects and prognosis. At the same time, the field is developing rapidly, with new ESMO recommendations, growing knowledge about body composition and new treatment options for obesity.

However, knowledge and clinical practice are not evenly distributed across professional groups and regions. As a national DCCC network, ObeCaRe has since 2020 built a multidisciplinary community bringing together oncologists, surgeons, epidemiologists, endocrinologists, molecular biologists, psychologists, nurses and patient representatives, among others. Through its annual meetings and activities, the network has helped develop a field of knowledge in which a range of results and recommendations are now ready to be put into wider practice.

ObeCaRe is therefore establishing a national, multidisciplinary roadshow team of junior and senior researchers from clinical, epidemiological, basic and translational research. The team will visit cancer centres and clinical environments across all five regions and share existing knowledge through short presentations, patient cases and local discussions about how knowledge can be translated into practice.

DCCC funding will support the planning and delivery of six regional visits in collaboration with local cancer communities in Aalborg, Aarhus, Odense, Esbjerg, Næstved/Roskilde and Copenhagen/Herlev.

By bringing researchers and clinicians together locally, the initiative will create opportunities to work with specific patient pathways and local implementation barriers. The aim is to strengthen a shared national knowledge base and support more consistent use of existing knowledge about obesity, metabolic health and cancer across Denmark.

DCCC has funded the initiative with DKK 200,000.

Read more about the initiative and participating partners: ObeCaRe Roadshow: From evidence and guidelines to clinical practice